I'm glad to start this blog. It's great to share experiences, tips, points of view, don't you think? So, here below, you'll find the most recent posts. You can comment them, of course.
Enjoy!
The place where I took this picture is not supposed to shelter red deers. But the prints are so big that it can’t be a roedeer. This print measures 8.5 cm long by 5.8 cm wide (3.75 by 2.28 inches). Another one was visible some 65 cm (25,6 inches) ahead. So, it’s likely to be a stag. If verified, this will be good news.
Last weekend, the weather allowed me a walk in the nearby mountains. It was cold (- 8° C) and the birds I had seen there last time were gone. Although the snow was fresh, I coud find no animal prints. But there was a lot of people… Too many ?
I was disppointed but fortunately, I was attracted by the pattern of branches showing the skeleton of a pine tree. And when there is less snow, the design makes me thinks of lace…
An easy way to make nice pictures is to photograph the sky at sunrise and sunset. But you need to prepare your shot.
CAUTION : NEVER PHOTOGRAPH THE SUN ITSELF.
It burns your eyes and it’s painless, but you end being blind forever. All the photos of the sun that you can see in the astronomy pages were made with a special filter.
If the sky is cloudy, it’s perfect. The colors will be even more fantastic. So, fisrt of all, you must know the local time of sunrise/sunset, not the legal time. You will find all the information you need in astronomy clubs or websites to calculate the right moment.
Then, depending on the season and on your location, you have to be ready more or less early. Itís up to you to test and find out the right time.
So, for a sunrise, you will make photos before the sun rises, and for a sunset, you will make photos just after the sun sets. Now be careful because it goes very fast. The light, the hues change continuously. And you will certainly make dozens of photos.
You need a tripod also for stability. Before the critical moment, make a few shots to be sure you’re in focus. It’s not so easy to photograph clouds… They’re not sharp objects.
As far as the lens is concerned, make your own tests. Some will prefer long focals, others, wide angles. It also depends on the landscape and on your gear.
I could’nt make photos this fall. In France, hunting is allowed everyday during the season. And accidents occur: some hunters like drinking a glass or two (even more) of warming drinks before a party. So, it happens they forget to break their weapon, and if they slip on a muddy ground or whatever, the gun goes off, wounding somenone in the crew. Or a hunter aims too hastily and approximately and shoots people walking or cycling. These examples are real, unfortunately.
Moreover, hunters think that nature is their own and they don’t want to share it. They don’t hesitate having arguments with people. And you wouldn’t risk being shot because they can’t control their nerves.
So, I donít want to take the risk. In October, I took my 8-year-old niece with me. First, we heard dogs, then, shots. She was so frightened that I had to take her back to the car.
There is hope however. A French association, ASPAS, is petitioning to forbid hunting on Sundays. But what would really be great, would be no hunting on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. If hunters want to practice their leisure, they can take some holidays and leave weekends for the others.
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